Sunday Homily - August 11th, 2019 - Journey of Faith

Holy and Righteous Abraham Icon

I.

Faith.

That mysterious,
 strange,
  upside-down thing we call faith
   can often seem so close and yet so far away at the same time.

In the popular vernacular,
 we use the word "faith" to refer to "confidence" or "reliability,"
  such as "the public's faith in the government was damaged,"
   or "I have faith that he will do the right thing"
    "my faith in humanity is restored!"

And that is a fine usage of the word faith,
 as the word is a close synonym to words like "confidence" and "reliability."

But, faith also has a deep spiritual meaning for us Christians
 that transcends more utilitarian words like those.

Rather, faith is a deep abiding "trust."

And the words "faith" and "trust" are intimately intertwined within the passages of Scripture
 we have read this morning.

In our Genesis passage,
 Abraham had faith in God's promise of a son,
  and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

But, of course, that's not the end of the story of Abraham's journey with God.
 Because, Abraham certainly believed God, he had faith in God,
  and yet he also made some huge missteps in that very faith with the Lord Most High.

If you read Abraham's story,
 in the very next chapter of Genesis,
  Abraham and Sarai take try to take matters into their own hands.
   Sarai knew she was barren,
    so she says to Abraham to go and have a child with one of her female slaves.

Abraham believed God,
 but Abraham also tried to do things his own way.
  And God came to Abraham again in Genesis 17 and reiterates
   that the child of the promise will come from Abraham and Sarai!

Abraham had bumps in his life of faith with God,
 his relationship of trust with the Lord Most High.

But guess what?
 So did, like, EVERYONE else in the Old Testament!

Isaac, Abraham's son, had bumps in the road of faith with God.
 Jacob, Isaac's son, definitely had bumps on the road of faith with God.
  Remember, Jacob even wrestled with God one time!
  [Genesis 32]

But, as our reading from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us this morning,
 faith in God is what led our ancestors to where God needed them to be.

II.

But, it would be a mistake to say that the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
 made their lives easy.

Their faith in God and in what the Lord Most High commanded
 quite often made them into strangers, sojourners, and foreigners
  in far away lands
   and in places that would show at least some relative hostility
    and at most outright animosity
     with their clans and their children.

Egypt,
 even though it was the place where Joseph,
  Jacob's son,
   saves most of the world from a severe famine,
    Egypt is the same place that not 100 years later
     has cruelly subjugated and enslaved the children of Israel.
     [c.f. Exodus 1]

After God saved Israel from Egypt,
 and when hundreds of years later they are finally established as a kingdom,
  they ultimately are taken away from their land in captivity
   by Babylon and Assyria.
   [c.f. 2 Chronicles]

Even during Jesus's ministry on earth,
 Israel was still subjugated under the rule of Rome,
  the latest of the oppressive forces
   that held the children of Israel as tokens of war.

But holy, saving faith is not something that can ever be destroyed weapons of war,
 nor can it be extinguished through cruelty,
  nor can it be put in cages,
   nor can it be wiped away by a tyrant's orders.

Because the faith of our ancestors
 is based on a relationship
  with a God who loves us.

And that's exactly what Jesus tells us this morning.

We, God's children,
 are not left as orphans,
  no matter what the exterior circumstances may seem.

Jesus even tells us as much:
 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
  Sell your possessions, and give alms.
   Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out,
    an unfailing treasure in heaven,
     where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
      For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
      [Luke 12:32 and following]

III.

Do we have faith in God enough to become sojourners,
 foreigners,
  aliens,
   for Jesus's sake?

Do we have faith enough in God
 to choose to do what Christ calls us to do
  even if it leads us into danger?

Do we have faith enough in God's Word entrusted to us
 that when we see things happening in the world that are contrary to it
  that we strive for justice and peace anyway,
   and respect the dignity of every human being anyway,
    even though it may cost us our reputation,
     our dignity,
      or even our lives?

I hope and pray that,
 despite our unworthiness and our brokenness,
  that we say "yes" anyway.

Because faith is not about our unworthiness or our sinfulness,
 the heart-wrenching things that we do to each other
  and the pain that we carry within our hearts each day.

Faith is about a relationship with a loving God,
 who deeply cares for you,
  and who will never stop caring for you,
   now and to the end of eternity.

As feeble as our faith may seem some days,
 remember, friends, that everything is about God's faithfulness to us first,
  not the other way around.

We will fail God,
 but God will never fail us.

We will fail to protect the vulnerable and oppress the stranger,
 but God will not fail to gather both us AND them in his loving arms together,
  because both we and the stranger are children of God.

We will fail to act justly toward those who are perishing,
 but God's justice will never cease even in death,
  because guns and bullets cannot kill God's power to save the souls of those who are murdered unjustly.

And even though we fail and fail and fail again to respect the basic dignity of our neighbors,
 God will never fail to again and again call US to walk more fully in the light of Christ,
  to live according to the Word of God,
   and to be transformed more closely into the image of Jesus.

Don't be afraid, friends, to live by faith in God
 and to pattern your life after God's merciful and gracious commands.

It will be hard, no doubt.
 It will cost you everything, no doubt.

But our faith in God is all about these two things:
 Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart,
  all your soul,
   all your mind,
    and all your strength.
     And love your neighbor as yourself.

Have faith, brothers and sisters.
 Have your lamps lit for God.
  And be ready to let your faith carry you
   where God wishes for you to go.

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.